Remembering a Princess

Raghu Rai,photographer:
I photographed her on several occasions. The last one was a year and half ago for a British magazine. I travelled to Jaipur and the shoot lasted two days. We went to her palace and temple and took photographs while she met with visitors. The palace had photographs of her in her teens and I made her sit in front of some of them. She was graceful and dignified and even with her wrinkles one could imagine what a stunner she was in her youth. I have a photograph of her adjusting her sari pallu that was flying in the wind. I can’t trace when or where this photo was taken,but I will be printing it in my forthcoming book on portraits of Indians.

Jai Inder Singh Shergill,polo player:
She was the face of polo,not just in India but internationally as well. When I was starting out,she was always there presiding over prize-distribution ceremonies. It was something she kept up till the very end. A couple of years back,when the World Cup trials were being held in Kolkata,she was quite unwell,but still she flew down and sat through the entire selection process. She was quite frail then and had to be brought in in a chair. At the end of it all,she even had dinner with us. She was a great encouragement to all of us.

Gopi Gajwani,artist:
We worked together for a book called Delhi,Agra,Jaipur. I had taken photographs for the publication and Gayatri Devi wrote on Jaipur. I remember visiting her Lodhi Estate home with the publisher to request her to write for the book. She had lived in Jaipur all her life and knew the place well. We were not sure if she would agree,but she readily said yes. I showed her some photographs taken by me in Jaipur and she allowed me to photograph her in the lawn.

Alka Bali,designer:
Our families back in Jaipur shared a close relationship,so I had the opportunity to watch her pretty closely. She enjoyed her little drink,loved meeting new people and going out till a couple of years ago when she fell ill. Of course,her beauty and poise are legendary,but I really loved the way she could interact with youngsters and blend in with any age group.